Blind Item: The Grim Reaper's About to Claim the Life of a Beloved Leading Lady!

UPDATE: BLIND ITEM SOLVED! You know how hard you usually work to identify the subject of our blind items? You may not wanna do that today, because once you figure out who this one’s about, you’re probably not gonna like it!

You see, a longish-running (more than four seasons but fewer than nine), 60-minute series is gearing up to bump off one of its lead female stars. Even more upsetting, the soon-to-be-deceased is going to meet her maker off screen. (Her “last” episode will take place at her funeral. Closed-casket, even!)

That the actress in question is on her way out won’t come entirely as a shock, mind you — for a while, the writing’s been on the wall, if not on her character’s tombstone. But, since you won’t get a chance to say a proper, sorta in-person goodbye, it’s highly likely there will be a bit of backlash.

So, do you dare wager a guess as to whom is about to become roadkill? Hit the comments below.

Betcha it’s Grey’s or Private Practice — something sneaky and mean like this has Shonda Rimes written all over it. I stopped watching Private Practice long ago, though and I barely watch Grey’s anymore because Shonda is so manipulative — plus, after awhile, the homocidal maniacs shooting up the hospital and car crashes and plane crashes get to be completely over the top and unbelievable. That much doesn’t happen to these few people. i mean, their bodies would be beaten to death by now — these same people have been shot, thrown through windshields, drowned (Meredith), and most recently thrown from a plane as it crashed. C’mon.

I thought it might have been referring to Sybil on Downtown but reading it again, it can’t be that as the cars only go about 10 miles an hour! Plus, she takes her final bow after *spoiler*. I keep seeing Fringe come up but the cars seem to be abandoned on the side of the road in 2036… (thank god for no more obvious Ford adverts…!) Dexter and True Blood would be good places to hedge a bet as most people end up popping their clogs but killing off a main character without a blaze of glorious blood splatter isn’t really their style… I thought it might have something to do with the Jennifer Esposito announcement last wk but that’s too young… Then I thought maybe Kristina gets so tired after her chemo in Parenthood that she takes her swan song with her car off a bridge? Flummoxed… :/ x

Or Astrid – even if she’s not a “lead” (she’s definitely a supporting character but she’s been in every episode and she’s a key member of the team so she could be said to be a lead). I don’t think they’d kill off Olivia halfway through the final season but it definitely sounds like “Fringe” to kill a character off-screen (alt!Lincoln, anybody?). And it just seems fitting to take her out of the equation in order to isolate Peter/Olivia/Walter even more and to continue to break their spirits.

Since it’s being revealed today, it’s safe to assume that the show in question airs tonight as well. Basically, it has to be “Fringe.” Fewer than nine seasons eliminates “CSI: New York” (the show is on its ninth season) and more than four season eliminates “Nikita” (which is in its third). The rest of the shows airing tonight are either 30 minute shows or are freshman/sophomore shows. I might be forgetting a show, though. Is anything on cable tonight?

OK, so the gravestone part of the clue got me thinking…what about Maura Isles on Rizzoli and Isles? It’s kind of insane since half the show is named for her but there’s that grave in that cemetery with her name on it……

Whew!! I called it right! So glad it is not Olivia from Fringe. It just made sense to me that it would be Claudia Joy. I know it will be heartwrenching to watch the first episode of the season but the writing was on the wall.